Pedagogy and Professional Development

A Lower Division General Education Course in Fashion: Revisit Curricula in Fashion/Apparel/Textiles Programs

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Abstract

Many textiles/apparel programs are facing hardship due to the relatively small size of the program. Creating general education (GE) courses can be an effective tool to not only increase the enrollment, but also recruit new students.   

FASH 30 Fashion and the Human Environment was created in a fashion program at a four-year university as an introductory course to fashion students.  Then it was converted to a lower division GE course.  PEST analysis served as a foundation of the course development.  PEST refers to a strategic method for understanding external environment by following the framework including political, economic, socio-cultural and technological components.  Built on the PEST Model, FASH 30 takes acritical look at the complex human environment by using fashion as a common thread that links the diverse facets of it together.  An increasing enrollment pattern of FASH 30has been consistent after it became a GE course.

Keywords: Curriculum in Textiles/Apparel Programs, Course Development

How to Cite:

Shen, D., (2020) “A Lower Division General Education Course in Fashion: Revisit Curricula in Fashion/Apparel/Textiles Programs”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 77(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.11837